Eagles practice observations: LB movement; Jalen Mills on TEs; Fletcher Cox’s awesomeness

The Eagles held their seventh open practice of training camp at the NovaCare Complex Monday. Here are links to Days 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. Let’s get to Day 7′s action:

1. There has been obvious concern about the Eagles’ linebacker group. There isn’t a veteran with a proven track record of consistency on the roster and there isn’t a player with more than four years of NFL experience. Fans can overstate the importance of the position, at least in terms of numbers. But with more three- and four-receiver sets on offense and defensive coordinators using more safeties and cornerbacks to cover tight ends, teams really only need two starting-caliber linebackers. But do the Eagles even have two?

On a day when former Eagle Nigel Bradham was released by the Saints, Eagles linebackers had a solid workout. Nate Gerry has been the three-down guy with the first unit for most of camp, but Duke Riley recently jumped ahead of T.J. Edwards as the second guy. Riley has been making plays daily. He had maybe the play of the day when he dropped into a zone at the second level and skied for a Nate Sudfeld pass. The interception came late in the workout, but it energized the defense that continued its winning ways vs. the offense. Riley also had a sack earlier in the practice. Edwards, who has been splitting nickel reps with Riley, made an impressive leaping interception of Sudfeld during seven-on-sevens.

The Eagles might able to get by with their first three LBs, but depth is an issue with three of the other four linebackers on the roster rookies. Jim Schwartz noted before practice how difficult it is for rookie linebackers to play right away on defense, and Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley, and Dante Olson have all clearly had their struggles.

2. Situational football remained the focus during team drills, but the Eagles are still evaluating and are still placing players in new/different roles. Defensive end Joe Ostman was used as a “Joker” – a standup inside rusher -- on one play, but center Jason Kelce picked him up and blocked him to the ground. Schwartz had Ostman play some Joker during last year’s camp before the end tore an ACL. Defensive end Vinny Curry, who returned after missing Sunday’s session with an illness, played some defensive tackle. With Matt Pryor and Jordan Mailata with the first team, center/guard Nate Herbig was the tackle eligible in the offense’s big three-tight end package. Safety Will Parks seems to have a lock on the dime spot.

Defensive end Josh Sweat took a lot of reps with the first-unit defense. He has stood out. He sacked Carson Wentz after circling around Mailata, who got an earful from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. With Derek Barnett still sidelined with a lower-body injury, Sweat has made the best of his opportunities.

3. Doug Pederson did something I’d never seen done before in my dozen years covering the NFL. About three-fourths of the way through practice, he had the players take off their shoulder pads. As they did so, the Eagles coach looked over to the media and joked, “We’re getting soft.” Reporters aren’t permitted to document what coaches say during camp, but Pederson said, “Tweet that,” so I did.

4. The Eagles added tackle Andre Dillard (upper body) to the injury report that still includes running back Miles Sanders (lower body), tackle Lane Johnson (upper body), cornerback Sidney Jones (lower body), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (pec strain), safety Marcus Epps (upper body), tight end Josh Perkins (upper body), receiver Robert Davis (lower body), and Barnett.

Running back Corey Clement and defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway returned from an “illness” designation, while wide receiver John Hightower and defensive tackle Anthony Rush remained out with illnesses. Defensive end Genard Avery left practice early with an apparent injury.

5. If Jalen Mills is to succeed at safety, he will need to consistently cover tight ends. He has two of the best in the business to practice against and he’s held his own against Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Mills’ best moment came midway through practice when he didn’t bite on a third-and-1 play action and stuck to Ertz on a deep cross. Wentz had no choice but to throw high and incomplete.

Late in practice, Mills notched a sweet one-handed interception of Wentz. I couldn’t see who the intended target was, but the safety was overjoyed and did a forward roll.

6. Goedert can block, catch, and run, but I think his greatest attribute is his reliability in the red zone. He’s a big target at 6-foot-5 and even from a vantage point of 100 yards away I could see him loom large whenever he created just a modicum of space. Wentz connected with Goedert for two touchdowns – both coming in the back of the end zone – during a red-zone set.

Ertz had a would-be touchdown taken away when undrafted rookie safety Elijah Riley gave him a little pop just as the ball hit his hands. Riley had a nice day. He logged a sack of Jalen Hurts after blitzing off the edge.

7. Fletcher Cox has been his usual dominant self, but he looks markedly better than he did this time a year ago when recovering from foot surgery. He sacked Wentz early in practice after he scooted by right guard Jason Peters. And he notched a would-be tackle for loss when he shaded Mailata and stopped running back Boston Scott on an inside zone run. Cox had a down year in 2019. He was still a force and had to make do with not much support inside after Malik Jackson’s injury. But Jackson’s return and the addition of Hargrave should help, as should Cox coming into camp in seemingly great shape.

8. Hurts split second-unit snaps with Sudfeld but was up first during most periods. He had an up-and-down day. He laid a teardrop into new receiver Travis Fulgham’s hands on a fade route during one-on-ones. He hooked up with tight end Noah Togial on successive rollouts in team drills. He found Fulgham again down the sideline, but his receiver couldn’t hang on. Hurts rolled out later but had no one open and was strip-sacked by Ostman.

Hurts kept the ball on the zone read a few times. On the first, he motored into the secondary. On the second, linebacker Alex Singleton diagnosed the play and gleefully tagged the quarterback down. Rookie receiver Jalen Reagor worked a bit with the second unit. He got wide-open vs. zone and Hurts found him for a big gainer.

9. Reagor and Wentz continued to work on their chemistry. They teamed up for a nice fade into the end zone during one-on-ones. Reagor got behind Darius Slay, but the veteran cornerback would later say he heard “back shoulder” and got caught flat-footed. Wentz had Reagor on a dig route, but the pass sailed high. And he had the rookie streaking open down the sideline but overthrew him. Wentz did squeeze a pass to Reagor vs. tight man coverage by cornerback Avonte Maddox.

10. And a few leftovers … The Eagles seem intent on having Reagor return punts. He’s been sure-handed the last several practices. … Linebackers coach Ken Flajole, 65, took a shot on the sideline but bounced right up. I recall him doing the same a year ago. Tough old football guy.